Reviews for Nietzsche in 90 Minutes

The average rating for Nietzsche in 90 Minutes based on 2 reviews is 1 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-08-10 00:00:00 Moira Mayatt This is a poor overview of Nietzsche's life and thought. It basically amounts to 90 minutes of gossip. There's no evidence of real interest in Nietzsche's thought from Paul Strathern. I highly recommend to instead read R J Hollingdale's book "Nietzsche: The Man and his Philosophy". Hollingdale was a famous Nietzsche scholar who also translated many of Nietzsche's books to English. That book is highly readable and a far better introduction to the subject. Edit: It's hard to overstate how much of a disservice you would be doing yourself if you read this book and thought you got something useful out of it. If you have the choice between reading 10 "in 90 minutes" books (or similar), or just one original work by one philosopher (Nietzsche or somebody else), you are far better off reading the one original work. But you are still better off not reading this particular quick introduction than you are if you read it. Why? Because humans have a tendency to anchor their thoughts on first impressions, an anchoring that cannot be unlearned. You will be stuck with a travesty of a first impression and perhaps never be interested in learning any more about Nietzsche. In the same way that tabloids trap you in a simplistic world view where everything is reduced to saucy, juicy detail, providing quick satiation and reducing genuine desire for genuine knowledge, this book is a cognitive trap that removes a potential hunger for fine cuisine by feeding you junk food. I do think that it may be possible to approach Nietzsche with wit and humour in some kind of way, but the complete lack of any substance here means that this is not the route to take. In his works, Nietzsche engages with Christianity, Platonism, the Greek tragedy, with the Dionysian and the Apolline, nihilism, European culture, with the nature of philosophy and knowledge, and morality among other themes. There is no real discussion or elucidation of his views on any of these topics here. When I read Strathern's book I get the impression that Nietzsche was a deranged, sick, weak eccentric with strange ideas. But when I read Nietzsche's books - or almost any academic book on Nietzsche - the image that comes to me is that of one of the greatest writers I've ever read, a man of towering ambition and ability, of uncanny wit, insight, profundity and style. Why the contradiction between these two images? Either Strathern is completely ignorant about Nietzsche, his writing and his themes, or Strathern harbors some kind of prejudice towards N. that he doesn't want to debate in the open. This is a great shame, since N.'s books really have the ability to change one's outlook on life (for the better, for a more joyous one, even!), but this is only possible if the reader approaches him with an open mind.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-19 00:00:00 David Whitt Nietzsche in 90 minutes? This worthless attempt to present Friedrich Nietzsche's very profound and complex ideas in a concise form as a quick read for the reader utterly fails in every aspect! Paul Strathern only gives a very, very brief outline of Nietzsche's philosophy and a short biography of his life interspersed with numerous disparaging remarks about Nietzsche. One gets the idea that Paul Strathern thinks that Nietzsche was just a megalomaniacal joke who took himself too seriously. He writes off all of his philosophical works as "childish" and only understandable to teenagers. "Nietzsche in 90 Minutes" is an extremely depthless, shallow book that does not clarify or shed light on any of Nietzsche's ideas. For anyone that is interested in learning more about Friedrich Nietzsche: DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!!!!